The Fourth Merkel cabinet (
German: ''Kabinett Merkel IV'') was the 23rd
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
of the
Federal Republic of Germany during the 19th legislative session of the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
. It was sworn in on 14 March 2018 following the 2017 federal election and dismissed on 26 October 2021, acting in a caretaker mode until 8 December 2021. It was preceded by the
third Merkel cabinet and succeeded by the
Scholz cabinet. Led by Chancellor
Angela Merkel, it was the third cabinet under Merkel to be supported by a
coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
of the
Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the
Christian Social Union of Bavaria
The Christian Social Union in Bavaria (German language, German: , CSU) is a Christian democracy, Christian democratic and Conservatism in Germany, conservative List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. Having a regionali ...
(CSU), and the
Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Composition
The cabinet consists of Chancellor Angela Merkel and fifteen (fourteen since 20 May 2021) federal ministers.
Olaf Scholz (SPD) replaced
Sigmar Gabriel as
Vice Chancellor
A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...
and
CSU Leader Horst Seehofer became
Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community. Fourteen ministers head a department (since 20 May 2021, one minister heads two departments); one member of the cabinet, the Head of the Chancellery, is Federal Minister for Special Affairs without a portfolio. The CDU has seven positions, the SPD has six and the CSU has three, as follows:
2018 government crisis
In June 2018, a
government crisis erupted within the cabinet between Interior Minister and CSU Chairman
Horst Seehofer and Chancellor
Angela Merkel, after Seehofer had elaborated a masterplan on asylum policies, containing the rejection of asylum seekers already registered in other EU countries. Seehofer had threatened to resign over the crisis on 1 July, but an agreement was made between the
CDU/CSU sister parties on 2 July.
Caretaker government
The results of the 2017 election had necessitated a series of negotiations that required the
Merkel III cabinet to remain in a caretaker capacity for a prolonged period of time (into 2018). Government formation after the 2021 elections lasted until 24 November 2021, and the caretaker government continued until December 8, making Merkel just 9 days short of the record for longest-serving Chancellor in post-war German history ahead of
Helmut Kohl
Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (; 3 April 1930 – 16 June 2017) was a German politician who served as chancellor of Germany and governed the ''Federal Republic'' from 1982 to 1998. He was leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 1973 to ...
.
References
External links
Cabinet of Germany (English)
(English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabinet Merkel IV
2018 establishments in Germany
Angela Merkel
Merkel IV
Merkel IV
Grand coalition governments